Language and Metaphors of the Russian Revolution: Sow the Wind, Reap the Storm
By Lonny Harrison, Associate Professor of Russian
Examining the evolution of storm, flood, and harvest metaphors in major works of Russian literature of the time, Language and Metaphors of the Russian Revolution offers an interpretive history of the Russian Revolution and the literary tradition that fostered it. Through a closer look at the language, symbols, stories, and imagery of revolution in the works of authors such as Maxim Gorky, Mikhail Bulgakov, and Boris Pasternak, Dr. Harrison focuses on the use of language as a weapon of class war and alternatively as a medium of resistance and dissent. “Sometimes a storm is just a storm,” writes Harrison in the preface, “but more often than not, it is an ambient metaphor accentuating personal turns of fortune, unrestrained political forces, seismic ruptures, or the inexorable tide of change.”
The Life I Didn’t Expect: Facing Adversity and Winning
By Ray Cerda Jr. (’87 BA, General Studies)
For high school football star Ray Cerda, the sky was the limit. But when a car accident left him with quadriplegia, his life changed forever. Cerda shares his story, a testament to the power of hope, determination, and perseverance.
Kicking and Screaming: A Memoir of Madness and Martial Arts
By Melanie Gibson (’12 MBA)
By all accounts, Melanie Gibson had a lot going for her. Behind the scenes, however, her life was falling apart. A childhood activity—taekwondo—took her from feeling troubled and lost to standing tall as a confident taekwondo black belt.
In the Mean Time: Temporal Colonization and the Mexican American Literary Tradition
By Erin Murrah-Mandril, Assistant Professor of English
Taking a cue from Latino and borderlands spatial theories, Dr. Murrah-Mandril draws from literature, political documents, and more to examine the way U.S. colonization altered time in the borderlands.
